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Postgame interview with Joe Girardi

Postgame interview with Joe Girardi

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Q. I think you said yesterday you were going to see how A.J. was going before deciding what you were going to do. Can you tell us what you saw and what your options were?

JOE GIRARDI: We liked the way A.J. was throwing the ball. He was throwing the ball good all night. You think about the first two runs that he gave up, he walked a guy, hit a guy and they ended up scoring one on a ground ball and infield hit. But he was throwing the ball good and we decided to leave him in.

Q. Just to follow up on that, the intentional walk with Murphy and did you think about replacing A.J. at that point?

JOE GIRARDI: We liked the matchup, A.J. against Molina, we did. And unfortunately it didn't work out. But A.J. was still throwing the ball good. He gave up a lead off single and then he got the next two guys out. Murphy has swung the bat in the past pretty good off him, and then we walked him and we liked the matchup and it didn't work out.

New York Yankees

Q. Is there any preliminary report on Teixeira and how devastating was that?

JOE GIRARDI: You know, Tex talked about he felt something pop in his hamstring. Barring some miracle, you know, he won't be with us tomorrow and playing.
You know, we are planning on bringing up Núñez, so that would mean he would be out the next round, as well. But it doesn't look good.

Q. Do you in the pregame say to yourself, If I could just get this from A.J. today, I would be happy, especially because you know you have extra outs from Mo at the end. And how do you not reach that point where you probably would have signed up for it before the game?

JOE GIRARDI: You know, I didn't really place an expectation on A.J. We all knew what A.J. was capable of doing, and you take away that one pitch and he really threw a really good game. You can't take away a pitch; I understand that.

But if we are going to get six or seven, I was taking it from A.J., and I knew we had certain guys, I knew I could go to Mo for four or five outs. We didn't get it.

Q. How much did you consider when they turned Berkman around and hit right handed, and did you consider hitting for him?

JOE GIRARDI: When?

Q. Against Oliver?

JOE GIRARDI: Well, we had used Jorge, we had used Marcus. He had had some success. He hit a ball hard. Unfortunately it found Michael Young's glove.

Q. Consider pitching Rivera at the top of the ninth?

JOE GIRARDI: If we got a run or two, we would have considered bringing in Mo in that situation. If we didn't score, we talked about, tomorrow might be a day to use Mo for six outs.

Q. Just to be clear, Teixeira, if you bring up Núñez, he's done for the rest of the playoffs?

JOE GIRARDI: He went for an MRI, and we'll know more. I don't think you need to make the move until game time. But as I said, it really doesn't look very good.

Q. You guys had bases loaded and one out and you only get one run, the way the offense has been going

JOE GIRARDI: Yeah, we had a couple chances to get some runs: First and second in the fifth and in the eighth inning we had some chances, and we just have not been able to get that big hit.
And you try to score runs, guys are putting good at bats, we missed a couple, Berky misses a home run by a couple of inches, Tex lines out with a guy on second with two outs. We just haven't got the big hit.

Q. How does this make you feel going forward?

JOE GIRARDI: As I said I believe in this team. We have bounced back many times in this year. It's a very resilient, professional group in there and they will be ready to play and you worry about tomorrow and that's it.

Q. You've never been in a situation this season where it's win or go home; what's your feeling tomorrow, given the way you've played the first four games?

JOE GIRARDI: Win, and then you go from there. As I said, it's a very tough minded group in there, and they have bounced back a lot, not just this year, but in their careers and they understand what that's all about. We have great leadership in there and we have to find a way to get it done.

Q. Following up, is there any part of you that told yourself, I've got five good innings out of A.J., this is exactly what I wanted, don't get greedy, don't push.

JOE GIRARDI: Well, he was still throwing the ball good. You know, if you take A.J. out there and you give up a couple of runs, people say, why did you take A.J. out. That's the nature of this business when you're a manager.
If things go right, they say, well, you do the right thing. If things go wrong, they say, well, you made the mistake. But he was throwing the ball good. It was hard to argue with the way he was throwing the baseball.

Q. Obviously this is not the situation you want to be in, Joe, but does it make it easier that you have CC pitching tomorrow in a win or go home game?

JOE GIRARDI: Well, we have a very good starter on the mound tomorrow, and CC has been there for us all year long. He's been there for us the last two years and I expect CC to be tough tomorrow.